


1 - First Christmas

by Kat_Lovegood



Series: Professor Layton Advent Calendar [1]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Advent Calendar, Advent Calendar Drabble, Azran Legacy Spoilers, Christmas Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 02:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Lovegood/pseuds/Kat_Lovegood
Summary: A drabble about Hershel Layton's first Christmas.
Series: Professor Layton Advent Calendar [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557985
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	1 - First Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!
> 
> As you can see, this is an Advent Calendar! I am going to post one drabble for every day until Christmas from December 1st to December 24th.  
> I have already written most of these (up to Day 19), so I'm very confident that I will actually finish this. The stories will feature a range of different characters, which is why am using a series format rather than posting the days as individual chapters of one story.
> 
> So, without further ado, have the first drabble!

It was quiet in the Laytons' house in the small town of Stratford. The cold morning air carried a thick layer of fog and the ground was frozen, but as of yet, it had not snowed. The calendar in the kitchen and the decorated fir in the small, adjoining living room revealed that it was Christmas day, and the tall grandfather clock near the fireplace just rang seven. Presently, Lucille Layton, her hair loosely tied up with a bow matching her rose-coloured dressing gown, went to work. She prepared breakfast first, eggs and bacon, before lighting the candles on the Christmas tree. She finally took down a box from the highest cupboard and carefully placed its contents – a few neatly wrapped up presents with name tags on them – next to the Christmas crib. At last, she went to wake her husband, Roland, and together they climbed the staircase that led to Hershel‘s tiny bedroom in the attic.

Lucille swiftly opened the blue curtains, letting the pale winter sunshine into the room, directly into the face of the small, sleepy boy who slowly blinked at the light. Hershel sat up, stretched his arms and yawned before grabbing his teddy with his right hand and rubbing his eyes with his left. He looked adorable, Lucille thought.

„Good morning“, the boy said, still seeming tired.

„Good morning, Hershel. Merry Christmas, my boy!“, his father replied heartily, before picking up his son and giving him a hug.

„Merry Christmas, Pa“, Hershel replied.

He happily hugged his father back, but unlike most other kids his age, who would have bounced with excitement, not being able to wait to get downstairs and to open their presents, he just smiled shyly at his parents, his eyes seemingly asking them what to do. The Layton‘s knew that their newly adopted son had grown up in a Jewish household until just a few months ago and likely did not know much about Christmas. They had carefully explained their traditions to him, from setting up the tree to baking ginger biscuits and shortbread with Lucille. Roland had told him the story of Jesus‘ birth before bed one night, and they had done some Christmas shopping in town. And now he would properly celebrate his first proper, English Christmas.

„Hershel, dear, you have to go downstairs and look under the tree! Do you wanna know what presents Santa Claus has brought for you?“, Lucille said and as the little boy nodded, Roland gently carried him down the stairs. Hershel slowly walked towards the living room. He stopped in front of the Christmas tree, sitting down on the carpet and carefully examining a present with blue-green striped wrapping-paper. His tiny fingers fumbled at the nametag. It had „Hershel“ written on it, with big letters in blue ink.

The young boy started unwrapping the package, trying his best not to tear the paper. The paper unveiled a carton, evidently a shoebox, though it had been painted over with red paint and the top was decorated with a neat drawing of a plane. Inside the box was a model aeroplane, made mostly of wood, though some details seemed to be made out of metal, and there was a red ribbon attached to the belly of the aircraft. The plane itself was of the same bright red colour as the box, and it had Hershel‘s name written on the side. He cautiously took the toy out of the carton, only to find two pieces of paper as well as a small key underneath. The boy handed both of them to his father.

„Oh, what do we have here“, Roland asked while examining the papers. One was a nice, printed Christmas card with a snowman on it, the other contained handwritten instructions on how to use the plane, which Roland had a bit of trouble to decipher, as the writing was not nearly as neat as the drawings accompanying the instructions. Apparently the toy had a real, small engine that could be started by turning the key five times and the ribbon was there to make sure the plane could not fly away or hit pieces of furniture. Roland kneed down next to Hershel and they started the plane, which swiftly took flight. Hershel marvelled at it while the aircraft was busily circling around his head.

Lucille, after watching the two for a while, quietly took the Christmas card from the table. She smiled as she read what was written on it‘s back:

* * *

_„Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return“_

_Leonardo da Vinci_

I hope you are well and enjoying Christmas with your family. I also hope that you like your new toy, as I put a lot of thought into it. Be happy.

Merry Christmas, Hershel

* * *

Lucille knew that this was a gift from Hershel‘s older brother, Desmond, and she was glad that he had not signed the card. For some reason, Hershel seemed to repress every memory of his former home, and after he had given Lucille and her husband only puzzled looks when they had asked him about what his home had been like, whether he had gone to school their, what his parents had been like, they figured it was better to stop asking. Better to let the boy forget about all the sadness in his life. His brother had understood, told them that he would not need to visit them if it would only make Hershel sad. The Layton‘s were his family now, after all, and Desmond had only asked them to write him from time to time, telling him how his little brother was doing. He had recently started at a prestigious boarding school, going by his new address, which was small comfort to Lucille, who still felt a bit guilty at not taking both of the boys in.

Lucille sighed as she put the card and the instruction back into the box. Her husband and son did not even notice, they were too engrossed in play.

„Come on, you two, you need to open the other presents now, the bacon is getting cold“, she scolded them jokingly. Hershel looked like a sad puppy but did as he said and put the plane away before quickly unwrapping his other gifts – a green sweater, two pairs of socks, a picture book, a tiny box filled with candies and a wooden jigsaw puzzle – and finally trotted into the kitchen.

The young boy helped his mother prepare Christmas dinner while his father set the tables. The three of them enjoyed their meal together, and Roland and Lucille even had a bottle of wine. They poured Hershel some apple juice into a fancy wine glass to clink with theirs in celebration of this special day. Later in the afternoon, they listened to the wireless for some time before teaching Hershel a few short Christmas carols. He picked them up rather quickly, and his singing voice was quite beautiful. Lucille even asked Roland whether they should perhaps sign him up for the church‘s children‘s choir so that he could meet a few other children his age before starting school next summer. Afterwards, the two of them went into the kitchen to do the dishes, and Hershel stayed in the living room to do the new puzzle and play with his toy plane a little more.

By the time they had supper, Hershel was already pretty tired and he succumbed to sleep a short while later when Lucille read him his new picture book. He looked like a little angel, with the soft waves in his hair and his teddy bear clutched tight to his tiny chest. His mother pulled the covers up just a little bit higher to protect the child from the cold air of the night before she turned off the lights. And when she finally closed the door, she quietly whispered: „Sleep well, little angel.“


End file.
